Statistics aside, this kid is really way beyond what I expected. Kopitar came straight out of the Swedish leagues and is playing in North America for the first time ever. He can see the ice well and makes others around him way better. Not to mention his speed is incredible and he takes it right to the defense.

Kid is ONLY 19and he scores 2 goals in his first NHL game? Special thanks to the teams in the top 10 in the 05' draft besides the Pens for passing on him.

We look like Caltran workers cause we pick up the dead Kings fans on the side of the road after another loss to the Ducks. Kopitar looked like a stud Friday night. You forgot to mention the score. Nice win for the Ducks (and Kings) on Saturday. 2 and 0. I need the Sharks to see what we really are made of. Ducks power play so far has been vastly improved. Avs look like the Ducks last year w/o the playoff run. Two overtime, two losses. Ducks cornered the market last year in that catagory. Angels are done so HOCKEY HOCKEY HOCKEY!

When the Toronto Maple Leafs gathered in the dressing room at the Air Canada Centre for their preseason opener a few weeks ago, Darcy Tucker motioned to his new teammate, Michael Peca, to occupy the locker stall to his left.

"Right here," said Tucker, slapping his hand on the seat next to him.

The other players in the dressing room gave the kind gesture a double-take, considering what happened on April 26, 2002, when Tucker delivered a low-bridge hit on the then New York Islanders forward, resulting in reconstructive surgery for Peca.
Tucker's overture was part of the healing process that the two have undertaken since they became teammates last summer.
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"If I could have taken a mulligan, I would have taken one on that hit," said Tucker, who scored twice in the Leafs 6-0 whitewash of the Ottawa Senators on Thursday. "I felt bad about that hit and that I injured him.

"The two of us have made a conscious effort to get to know each other in the summer, and I thought it was big for the team to see that we have put our differences in the past."

The feisty forwards were in tandem with their effort against the Senators in Ottawa two nights ago, when they exhibited a tremendous amount of on-ice intensity and pulled their teammates along with them.

The 5-foot-11, 190-pound Peca and the 5-foot-10, 178-pound Tucker are thankful they are now teammates and not opponents.

"I admire how much he puts into each shift," Peca said. "We're similar in stature, but determination goes a long way in our sport and I think he has proven that.

"I would say I'm a little more controlled emotionally than him. But we do have the same attributes in terms of we are out there competing and putting a lot of second effort into the game because of our size."

Tucker's effort to befriend Peca began with a golf game a couple days after Peca signed as an unrestricted free agent.

They were quick to settle their differences and, before they knew it, Tucker was giving advice to his new teammate on a good school for his kids. Now at each home game, their six-year-old sons have a whale of time playing in a family skybox. They have become close friends at school.

"As time goes by, you realize that stuff that happens between opponents is simply part of the game," Peca said. "I know that when I've injured people it's not out of intent. Emotions run crazy, especially in the playoffs.

"Coming here now, it's one of those situations that you enjoy playing with someone who, when you were opponents, was so difficult to play against."

Tucker already shows the effects of his willingness to mix it up. He suffered a nasty scrape underneath his right eye when his face hit the shin pad of Ottawa defenceman Chris Phillips on Thursday.

The two-goal performance was just what Tucker needed to keep his confidence high after a career-high 28-goal season and keep the pressure on the Leafs to sign him to a contract extension this season.

"The most depressing thing of all was not making the playoffs," he said. "We have to make the playoffs this year and in order to do so, there are certain guys here, including myself, that have to stand up and be accounted for.

"I think the respect that you get for going out and playing hard every night and the leadership you bring to the rink maybe outweighs scoring goals and production.

"But there is going to be talk about this [a contract extension] all year, and I really don't want to talk about it. It's something that is out of my control. So you just go out and play hard."

Leafs forward Kyle Wellwood, who enjoyed a four-assist game on Thursday, was given the day off to nurse an undisclosed injury that Toronto coach Paul Maurice said will not keep the youngster out of the lineup against the Montreal Canadiens tonight.

The Leafs also signed veteran forward Boyd Devereaux to a one-year, two-way contract that is worth $450,000 (U.S.) if he plays in the NHL. He was placed on waivers yesterday, and if he clears today, Devereaux will be sent to the Toronto Marlies of the American Hockey League.

We look like Caltran workers cause we pick up the dead Kings fans on the side of the road after another loss to the Ducks. Kopitar looked like a stud Friday night. You forgot to mention the score. Nice win for the Ducks (and Kings) on Saturday. 2 and 0. I need the Sharks to see what we really are made of. Ducks power play so far has been vastly improved. Avs look like the Ducks last year w/o the playoff run. Two overtime, two losses. Ducks cornered the market last year in that catagory. Angels are done so HOCKEY HOCKEY HOCKEY!

Yup the Sharks are really an underrated team, everyone is hyping the Ducks for the cup. I was high on the Sharks last year but they took a crap against the Oilers. As much as I hate to see a California team win the stanley cup before the Kings do, I picked the Sharks for the second year in a row.

Marek Svatos, Brad Richardson, Wojtek Wolski and Paul Stastny are making Hockeysfuture.com's prospect organizational rankings of the past few years look excellent . 6 of the Avs 7 goals have been scored by players less than 23 years old.

Two of the biggest keys to Colorado's playoff chances are Jose Theodore and Tyler Arnasson. Theodore has looked pretty good so far while Arnasson has been almost invisible.

I hope we don't rely on special teams all season. Scoring at even strength is the best indicator of a team's ability (imo) and the Avs are doing terrible at that right now.

I can't wait to see Jordan Leopold make his Avalanche debut. Adding him to the blueline and subtracting Brisebois would be a major upgrade, but somehow I get the feeling that either Ken Klee or Ossi Vaananen is going to be the odd defenseman out.

Marek Svatos, Brad Richardson, Wojtek Wolski and Paul Stastny are making Hockeysfuture.com's prospect organizational rankings of the past few years look excellent . 6 of the Avs 7 goals have been scored by players less than 23 years old.

The bad blood that had existed between Vancouver and Colorado has subsided with the Canucks' trade of Todd Bertuzzi to the Florida Panthers last June. Bertuzzi was booed every time he came to Colorado after he fractured former Avalanche forward Steve Moore's neck with a hard open-ice body check in 2004.

The bad blood that had existed between Vancouver and Colorado has subsided with the Canucks' trade of Todd Bertuzzi to the Florida Panthers last June. Bertuzzi was booed every time he came to Colorado after he fractured former Avalanche forward Steve Moore's neck with a hard open-ice body check in 2004.

Wow. Just wow.

Yeah, it was a great open ice body check. That might be the dumbest thing I've ever read.

The bad blood that had existed between Vancouver and Colorado has subsided with the Canucks' trade of Todd Bertuzzi to the Florida Panthers last June. Bertuzzi was booed every time he came to Colorado after he fractured former Avalanche forward Steve Moore's neck with a hard open-ice body check in 2004.

Wow. Just wow.

Wow...is the writer Canadian by any chance? Im stunned he even wrote that.

Just makes you shake your head when you read something like that from TSN.

I was at the game tonight. Brisebois sucks, Arnason's played like crap after a good training camp and preseason, and Svatos is clutch! I think Stastny is starting to get more comfortable. He got his first NHL point tonight and won 58% of his face-offs. He and Wolski seem to have a nice chemistry.

Sakic also had a nice game tonight. While it's great to see the kids playing well, the Avs need the veterans to get going. A very good performance by Theodore tonight.

He does, i still think he's got about 3yrs yet before he starts getting to his potential though. Even though the pens lost to the wings - the one goal by #93 - he just stuffed that in and the D didn't do much to discourage him -

The pens need to hope one of the Dmen pans out to be a top tier Dman - but they can't do it all in one year - so i'm happy so far.

Semin for the Caps looks good - i wondered if/when he was going to start being able to put it together.